United Gulf Bank posts US$ 35.2m gross Profit

Manama

United Gulf Bank (UGB), a subsidiary of KIPCO Group, has reported a total income of US$35.2 million in the first quarter of 2015. The bank had recorded US $40.5 million total profit in the same period last year.  

The decrease in profit is mainly due to the absence of a one-time-gain recorded last year. In the first quarter of 2014, the company had recorded a step-up acquisition gain of US$9m at a subsidiary.

UGB’s net-profit attributable to shareholders of parent was at US$ 2.1 million compared to US$ 10.2 million in the same period last year. The earnings per share of the bank are at 26 cents compared to US$1.25 recorded in the first quarter 2014.

 Commenting on the results, Rabih Soukarieh, Chief Executive Officer of UGB, said, “Our recurring Income has increased for the quarter compared to the same period in 2014. We remain confident of our future profitability that is for the most part driven by a predictable and recurring revenue stream.”

UGB and its subsidiary KAMCO have a proven track record of successfully completing more than 60 investment-banking transactions for its clients since 2001 with an aggregate value of over US$ 8 billion.

 UGB also said that its total assets marginally decreased to US$2.6 billion in the last quarter from US$2.8bn at December 2014. Total equity was down at US$537.8m, when compared to US$580.4m in the prior year period, due to a negative movement of fair value and foreign exchange reserves.